The Scythe SCSM1000 Samurai is one of
those all-in-one heatsinks that tries to accommodate virtually every kind of
processor formfactor out there. Generally when coolers go down this route they
either succeed on a few different CPU cores, or fail miserably on every single
one. It all depends on the base of the heatsink, and a couple other factors
we'll get into shortly.

In any case, the Scythe SCSM-1000 Samurai heatsink is
advertised for
socket 370/A, 478, and 754/939/940 processors - basically the full gamut
of chips with the exception of LGA775 and AM2 sockets. In reality, the Scythe
SCSM-1000 is very clearly a socket 478 heatsink which has been adapted to take
on many different roles. Given its 600 gram weight, you should not consider
this heatsink for the bare cores of AthlonXP processors in our opinion.

With this much copper above the CPU, it's easy to make
quick assumptions about the Samurai's thermal capabilities that could be far from accurate.
As with any heatsink, you can never really tell how it will perform until it's been put through
the tests!

In this review FrostyTech will be testing the Scythe SCSM-1000 Samurai
heatsink on the AMD K8 platform, since the other sockets it supports have all
been retired. Off the cuff, the Scythe SCSM-1000 boasts full copper
construction, an 80mm speed controlled fan, and a rather large spot of shiny
ducting to squeeze all that airflow into a tiny 70mm footprint. Let's
begin...

Before testing beings, the matter of which bracket to
use needs to be sorted. The Scythe SCSM-1000 comes with a few, and each attaches
via a set of screws to the main body of the cooler.

The fan shroud doubles up as a duct, and it directs airflow down into a field of coppery fingers - the
edges are shaped rather than just straight edges of metal. Attached to
a PCI bracket is the potentiometer for making adjustments to the speed of the
Samurai's fan.

FrostyTech's K8 Test Methodology is outlined in detail
here
if you care to know what equipment is used, and the parameters
under which the tests are conducted. Now let's move forward and take a closer look
at the Scythe SCSM-1000 Samurai heatsink, its acoustic characteristics, and of course it performance in
the thermal tests!